


Facing Peril With a Shrug

by Ellesra



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Blood, Fantasy AU, Flexible gender roles, Gen, Graphic Description of wound, Stitching of this wound, Strilondes as Harpies, Talk of harpy eating habits (eating humans)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:07:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23902825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellesra/pseuds/Ellesra
Summary: The forest is eerily silent, and Karkat goes to figure out why. What he finds is two harpies in a trap. The logical thing would be to put them out of their misery.He's never really been one for the logical thing.
Relationships: Dave Strider & Karkat Vantas, Rose Lalonde & Dave Strider
Kudos: 29
Collections: HSCCS Promptfest 2020





	Facing Peril With a Shrug

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [HSCCSPromptfest2020](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/HSCCSPromptfest2020) collection. 



> **Prompt:**  
>  While out hunting, Karkat encounters a pair of injured harpies tangled in a trap. Instead of killing them or taking them to the market to be sold, he impulsively takes them home and houses them in secret with the help of his meddling sister.
> 
> It's more fantasy AU than greek mythology AU, but I hope it's still a fun read!

The forest was strangely quiet around you. Normally, there would be the sound of birds flitting between the trees, singing their songs with the hope that someone desirable would hear. By now you should have met a hare, or a deer, or even just a mouse, flitting across the forest floor at your approach.

You have your weapon ready, and the sense of trepidation only rises as you proceed. Not only are you not supposed to be this far out from your settlement; you’re here alone, without anyone to back you up should a predator approach. While you might boast of your strength in mixed company, you know better than anyone the danger of some of the animals nearby. Strange beasts prowl this part of the forest, and you’d do well to keep away.

This silence is just so wrong, you felt compelled to find out what caused it. Curiosity has gotten better men than you killed, but it has also rewarded people below your skill and station. There are plenty of stories of common bastards walking into the wild and finding treasure beyond their wildest dreams.

A tomb is a place to be buried and forgotten. It is also a place where people brought their wealth into their final resting places, to be abandoned to dust and spiderwebs until someone found it hundreds of years later.

You are not here to rob any graves. Nor are you here to trick forest spirits into servitude, or deceive fairies into giving you gold. 

Your clan is one of guardians, pledging their protection to the nature of this place. The vow you’ve taken is one of balance.

So it’s not  _ merely _ curiosity that has brought you here. That does not stop you from thinking your sister will call you a sodding imbecile by the day’s end.

A screech sounds through the forest, and you concede she would probably be right to name you so as you quietly move towards the source. Your bow is strung, an arrow nocked, and adrenaline is coursing through your body. Still, you feel woefully unprepared for what might be awaiting you.

Ahead of you is a small clearing, and it slowly reveals the cause of the screech as you approach it.

In the middle of the clearing is a hole, on top of which you can see braided tree trunks forming a barrier between the hole and the clearing. While the assumption that whatever made the screech is in there might be right, you still hold your bow at the ready. Whoever made the hole might come, called by the same sounds that made you investigate.

As you draw closer, you can see one clawed hand holding onto the barrier. You go cautiously, watching out for any movement from the forest and from the cage.

What you see when you glance through the braided trees makes your blood both boil and freeze at the same time. Your heart is beating wildly with the instinctual fear of what you see, and yet you can’t help but feel anger and pity for the poor creatures as well. Before looking closer you glance to the sky, making sure that no more of these beasts are around.

There is a harpy, holding on to the barrier between it and freedom, while having the rest of its claws dug into the dirt wall. Below is another harpy, impaled on the stakes that had been put there for exactly that purpose.

The harpy sees him, and an ugly sneer twists its face. Then it glances down, and the expression disappears as fast as it had appeared.

A silence stretched between the two of you, as you kept sending glances towards the sky. No other harpies. It was strange; they always travelled in a flock. Especially while hunting, as these two must have been doing, judging by the rotting flesh hanging off one of the stakes. 

“Human,” the harpy rasped. You feel a shudder go through you at the sound, so human-like and yet still sending shivers of fear through you.

It takes another glance at the harpy, its arms shivering with the strain from holding itself up, before the decision is as clear as anything in your mind.

“I am one of the guardians of this forest. I will let you out. Please do not attack me.” You try for a reassuring tone, even as your mind is screaming at you to kill these monsters.

Harpies are not part of the nature you are sworn to protect. They are bloodthirsty monsters through and through, and will always try to eat you. It does not matter if the harpy acts like it is fond of you, or claims you are its friend. 

Because of this, what you are doing is practically suicide. Well, at least the harpy is tired, and alone. That should give you a fighting chance.

The harpy only nods in response, staring at you suspiciously as you lift off the trees. They are much heavier than expected from how slim the trunks had looked. They must be newly chopped down, and still hold a lot of liquid inside of them. Even so, you manage to drag it off the hole sufficiently for the harpy to get through.

You expect the harpy to fly out and come at you straight away. Instead you hear what sounds like the flap of its wings, then a series of scritches. Walking closer, you see that the harpy has moved over to its companion, grasping onto the stakes with its clawed feet. It’s bending towards the other, making chirping and cooing noises that must surely be language with the way the other responds.

The other harpy is bleeding heavily, but still alive by the looks of it.

“Here, tie this around their waist,” you direct, throwing down the end of a rope. The harpy narrows its eyes at him again, but in the end does as directed. It once more grabs onto the wall with its feet talons, and attempts to help the other maneuver so that it will get off the stakes and be able to escape.

There is a screech that makes your mind numb and your fingers barely hold on. The screech is pure, undiluted pain, and yet it also holds the other qualities that makes a harpy’s scream deadly. Only by pure willpower do you hold onto the rope, though it takes more strength than you care to admit to lift the slim figure out of the hole.

This harpy is bleeding quite a bit. There is a hole that is almost as wide as your lower arm through its thigh, and the arm on the same side has a deep scratch running up it.

As you approach them, the intact, if tired, harpy hisses at you. Keeping your hands well away from your weapons, you walk towards them slowly.

“I just want to help. I know some basic healing, I might be able to keep your companion alive,” you say, keeping your tone even and low. The bristling feathers on the harpy in question lowers slightly, though it’s still watching you warily as you come to their side.

A roll of fabric, a needle and a flask of water comes out of your pack in quick succession. You pour the water into the wound, and watch as it runs straight through the flesh and come out on the other side. You are not at all certain you can do this, but with that sharp gaze on your neck you don’t actually admit so out loud. Instead you just get to work, stitching one side closed. The other side will have to wait since you have run out of thread. You wrap the cloth around the harpy’s thigh, in the back of your mind marvelling at how human-like it is. There are coarser feathers running down on the outer side of the thigh, while the inside is softer than any fur you’ve ever felt. Even with the feathers, the shape and feel of the muscles and bones are strangely humanoid. 

You finish, and look up to see the other harpy hovering close to you, its visage warped into something like fascination.

This gives you the opportunity to observe its face closely. Too much so, says the beating of your heart. Its eyes are almost entirely red, except for the slanted pupil directing its gaze. Around its eyes are a ring of darker feathers, making its eyes look bigger than they are. And, glancing down, as expected there is a row of very sharp teeth, visible from the way its mouth is slightly open.

You back away, once more moving slowly. It watches you, and you’re afraid part of what you see in its expression is hunger.

“I did not get to entirely close the wound. But, if you would follow me to my village, I’d make sure that your companion would get more proper treatment.”

Shit, Karkat,  _ what are you saying _ . Your mind is screaming at you again. You promptly ignore it.

“Of course, that would mean that you can’t attack anyone. I could probably find some meat for you, but the other villagers are not to be touched, and if you even so much as glance at them I will cut you down and not even feel a tiny bit regretful of it.” You’re not certain if you manage to come across as threatening as you would wish. The harpy does not look particularly affected by your words.

“Alright. We will come with you to your village, and you will heal my sister and we will not eat anyone,” the harpy replied.

Of course, a harpy will tell you whatever you want to hear, and then ambush you once you’ve followed it into its domain. There is no reason you should trust this harpy’s reassurement. So it’s only because of your soft goddamned heart that you are picking the hurt creature up, and nodding for the other to follow.

The harpy chirps into your chest, curling together as much as it possibly can in your arms. Its face is a grimace of pain.

You walk into the forest and the harpy is at your back, which has your hairs standing on end. The creature is jumping and skipping between each foothold, clearly not used to moving on the ground. Every now and then you hear the flapping of its wings, and when you glance at it you can see it right itself as it nearly loses balance.

“What should I call you?” you finally think to ask, as you start to tire of merely calling the harpy “it”.

There is silence, and you give the harpy time to answer. Then, as you’re about to turn around and look at it, you flinch as it jumps past you, grabbing onto the next fallen trunk you’re approaching.

“She is Rose, female. And I…” the harpy hesitates. “I… Am Dave. Yes, that’s my name. Male.”

Okay, that seemed like it took a bit too much thought to be it. But if this creature wants to be called Dave, that’s none of your business.

“Rose and Dave. Alright. I’m Karkat, but I might be called Vantas by some of the clan, so don’t be surprised if you hear me being referred to as such,” you explain.

“Why?” Dave asks, and you frown as you glance at him.  _ Why? _

“Why my name is Karkat, or why I might be called Vantas?” you question, before your gaze goes back to your path. This is not a forest where your attention can be elsewhere. You can as easily step on a snake as you might stumble on a branch. A combination of which can be fatal, of course.

“Why have two names?” Dave asks, and from how his face looks when you glance at him, he’s actually puzzled by the concept.

“Well, Karkat is my name, like yours is Dave. Vantas is my title. My position? Like how you might have a leader, I suppose. Or a scout, or similar positions.”

Dave seems to mumble something, as he gives a series of strange chitters that trail off as he gets ready to make another jump.

“So, why did you feel the need to give me your gender as well?” you ask, growing curious of the strange wording of Dave’s introduction.

When Dave is quiet once again, you just keep walking until Dave once more comes bounding past you.

“To humans, gender is like position, title. Gender tells you what you do. So I am male. Because I do male things. I hunt and kill and protect the group. Rose is female. She takes care and nurtures and creates.” Dave mutters some more, but it is once more a combination of chittering and squawks.

“Don’t let some of the females in my village hear that. They would be very offended at the implication that they couldn’t fight because they’re female,” you say, and females much stronger than you come to mind. Terezi, who had first come to the village in order to further her sword skills on the monsters of the forest, and yet stayed for the community they had. Nepeta, who protected the animals of this forest with a ferocity most of the men could not hope to obtain. Aradia, who you only saw sporadically, and yet had managed to save your neck on more than one occasion.

While your sister could create the most beautiful things, you most certainly did not wish to meet her in a battle.

When it came to the so-called males of your settlement, most of them were more about nurturing than fighting. Sollux had his bees, and might rise to the bait if someone really infuriated him. Otherwise, you weren’t sure you’d ever seen him face off against anything scarier than a badger, which had repeatedly tried getting into his hives. Tavros was a person who would look out for any creature, both small and large, and had an almost unnatural way of communicating with them. Once more, not a person who would ever raise his weapons against other people. Equius, meanwhile, would probably fight anyone who wanted to give him a fight, but cared very little for it in the end. The man rather preferred four-legged companions to two-legged, and usually only started caring if a horse-beast’s honor was at stake.

“I didn’t think I would be talking to anyone in your village,” Dave said, and it sounded curious.

“Yeah, hopefully we will be in and out without anyone seeing us. I am not entirely sure they won’t kill me, if they see that I’ve brought you into the settlement,” you chuckled.

“Oh. Well, it would be a shame if they could kill you before you helped my sister.”

Your head whips around to look at Dave. His face is turned towards you, his eyes blinking innocently. You’re sure you can see a grin just barely twist his lips before he makes the next leap.

Looking down at his sister, you flinch when you see that her eyes are actually open. She is staring at you with wide, curious eyes.

There is a chance your heart is going to leap out of your chest, because it’s running a mile a minute as you stop walking, staring into those purple depths.

“You… Are helping us,” she confirms. Her voice is softer than Dave’s, less grating on the ears, and it actually makes you feel more hunted than you felt before. The only reason for a harpy to speak the common tongue is to lure travellers into ambushes. That this one speaks with such a grace does not promise good things for your future.

“Yes. Attempting to, anyway,” you answer, and direct your eyes back onto the land in front of you. From the corner of your eye you see her blink up at you. 

There is a squawk next to you, and next thing you know Dave is in your face, grasping onto you, grinning broadly down at his sister. Then he smushes his face into hers, and you feel Rose curl in your arms as she makes a sound strangely reminiscent of laughter. Then a shrill sound, and Dave jumps away. Looking down at her, you see her face contorting in pain.

“It’s alright, we’re going to get you fixed up in no time,” you try to reassure her. She nods up at you, then curls against your chest again.

It takes the two of you another couple of hours to get back to your village, and the sky is turning dark as you draw close. While the dim lighting makes you stumble more than normal, straining your eyes to see different contours around you, it is a blessing in disguise. With this light, you are hopeful that no one might see you approach.

“Karkat?” sounds from the village border, a voice to put your hopes to rest once and for all.

It’s Kanaya. This might go very badly or very well, all depending on how mad she gets at you.

Yeah, it will be a shitshow.

“Yeah, it’s me. I got a bit sidetracked,” you say casually, walking closer to where you can see her silhouette against the firelight.

“You’ve been gone all day, I really was about to send out a search party for -” she stops talking, and you know why; in this open scenery Dave has a much easier time walking, but of course chose this moment to spread his wings. Glancing at him you can see even in this light how tense he is, ready to take flight any second.

Kanaya, meanwhile, already has a spear in hand.

“Hey, okay, calm down, I’m going to explain it to you, just don’t attack, either of you, okay?”

Rose feels deceptively limp in your arms, but one glance tells you her attention is on Kanaya. Both the harpies are ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice.

“So, firstly, these two are alone. They’re not leading the flock here or anything. And, secondly, I promised this one I would heal his sister if they swore not to attack anyone, and that I also would kill them if they so much as moved a finger to do so. So…”

You look at Kanaya, and her eyes are narrowed to slits. The spear is still at the ready.

“They were both caught in a trap. I couldn’t leave them there…”

Something softens in her. You see your sister lower the spear by increments, and you know she’s given up on denying you. With a sigh of relief you move towards your shared hut.

“If they so much as look in the direction of the others,” Kanaya promises. Dave is still bristling, pointedly keeping to the side of you that is the furthest away from Kanaya.

“Yes, so I’ve told them. Could you help me patch her up? You’re much better at it than I,” you ask, and she nods briskly.

You both enter the cabin, coaxing Dave to go in first. You lay Rose onto a table placed to one side of the hut, and leave her there to switch places with Kanaya. Then you stand by the door, pose ready, hand on your knife.

Kanaya moves briskly, easily showing her experience with the task. It takes her no time at all to have everything she requires for the procedure laid out beside Rose. She, in turn, is watching with unbridled fascination, her pupils following every move intently.

Meanwhile, Dave is hovering. There is no other way to describe the way he is standing uncertainly beside the table, eyes flicking from Rose, to Kanaya, to you, looking like he has no idea who requires watching the most.

“You can trust her,” you tell him. Kanaya is taking off the cloth, frowning down at the nasty wound. Dave squints his eyes at you, then glances as Rose one more time before he moves over to sit beside you. 

“It’s a bit funny, you humans and your trust.” 

You would have expected it to sound bitter, but it just sounds factual. 

“Humans trust each other, and then they turn their backs and stab each other for a piece of metal. It’s funny,” Dave continues, and you glance down to see a grin on his face.

You scoff. He takes it as a sign to continue.

“Maybe if you stopped trusting, you would not die so easy. Every time someone said ‘I want you inside of me’, they would actually think it wasn’t true and not come running with their pants down, ready to be eaten. But maybe trust is a good thing, because it keeps us well fed,” he says, and you can’t hold back a grin at the imagery. There really are some stupid fuckers out there, he’s right in that.

“Is that how you usually hunt?” you ask, once more glancing away from Kanaya’s needlework to look at Dave.

“Eh, there are many ways to hunt. Some of us like some things, others not so much,” he says, and almost seems to shrug, tilting his head to the side and making a chirping sound reminiscent of laughter.

“And what do you like?” you ask, unable to withhold your curiosity. This is the first time you’ve actually had a prolonged discussion with a harpy, and you’ve never heard any stories like it either.

“I usually just take out whatever tries to hunt  _ us _ ,” he says, and flashes his teeth at you. A shudder goes through you, and it is strangely thrilling to have your body react in this way. Adrenaline is pumping through your veins making you more aware than ever, even as tiredness is starting to drag at your body.

The village has gone quiet and the darkness has completely surrounded the hut by the time Kanaya is done. She finishes tying a clean cloth around Rose’s leg, fastens it, and nods to herself before going off to wash her hands. Rose is left staring after her, wide eyes still tracking Kanaya’s movement.

“So, where will we be putting them?” you ask. Kanaya glances sharply at you, and you weather her gaze without flinching. 

Then, as suddenly as her eyes found you, they flick over to the harpies.

“Rose, is it?” she asks. Rose nods, and Dave looks between the two of them curiously. “What kind of place do you usually sleep?”

Rose’s soft voice is like music in the enclosed room. “Somewhere high, usually. The rafters would do,” she says, and points up at the horizontal beams holding the ceiling in place. You’re not entirely certain it would hold the two of them.

On another, even more important note, you are not sure you’d feel comfortable sleeping while the two of them hovered above you, in a position to leap at any moment.

Dave seems to read your mind, because he glances at you and grins. “I won’t eat you while you sleep, I promise.”

Somehow, the laughter that escapes you takes you completely by surprise. You feel heat rising to your cheeks, and can see the way Kanaya’s brows are lifted in surprise as well.

“Very well, I will take the first watch. Go get some sleep, Karkat. And Rose, if you are not able to get up there, you can take my bed,” Kanaya informs them, and takes Karkat’s position by gently, yet firmly shoving him towards his bed.

You want to object. You’d really like to tell Kanaya that you brought this problem here, and you should be responsible for watching over them. Yet you know for certain that Kanaya will just stare you down until you give in. Your body is aching from the day’s travel, and your bed roll is looking entirely too soft where it’s laying.

So you give in without even putting up a fight. You leave your clothes on in case you’ll have to get up in a hurry. The bedroll feels as soft and welcoming as you figured it would.

From the rafters, Dave is cooing in a strangely soft manner down to Rose. She takes flight as well, lands with her uninjured foot, before testing the other one. The grimace is visible even from where you are lying.

For the first time since you first saw Rose awake, she actually looks uncertain. She glances at Kanaya. Glances at Dave. Chitters something to Dave. He nods.

She unfolds her winged arms again, and takes off down to the second bedroll of the room. There she lays out on top of it, careful to position her legs so that her wound isn’t touching anything.

After a moment of consideration, Dave glides down to the bedroll as well. He carefully maneuvers himself into a lying position beside Rose, burrowing his face into her neck. They exchange some more soft chitters between themselves, a strangely pleasant sound to accompany the crackling of the fire.

Before you fall asleep your eyes fall on Kanaya. She’s sitting on a chair, patching a pair of pants that are probably yours by the size of them. You smile at her, and as your eyelids slide closed you think you might see her smiling back at you. Despite having two predators barely a few feet away from you, you feel completely safe under Kanaya’s watchful eye.

**Author's Note:**

> I had a lot of fun playing with the differences in harpy and human society in this. It's sadly not as pairing-y as you might have wanted, but that's mostly just cus it would have taken at least double this amount of words in order to get there. Hope this is still an enjoyable read!


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